Chapter 10 of Agustin Fuentes' The Creative Spark recounts the author's experience in a cave in Portugal, seeing cave paintings illuminated by a dim light, where he realizes in viewing the cave paintings, he's probably standing right where the artist who made them hundreds of years ago would have. As an anthropology major, I love early art like this. Humans have been "behaviorally modern" since about 100,000 years ago, meaning around that time we began to act and think the same way we do now. Right around then is when art began, with ochre paintings on cave walls and carved figurines. This is something I really love about people, is that basically as long as we've been people, we've been making art. Early humans I think are rarely given enough credit-- many people still have the view of ancient man as being a lumbering, primitive caveman, when in reality, ancient people were just like us. They drew pictures and spent time with their families and survived in an altogether pretty hostile world.
Cave paintings like those at Lascax and Altamira are proof of just how like us early humans were, with detailed drawings done from observation and scenes of people and animals. Just like now, people wanted to document their world, to illustrate their lives and stories. I especially love drawings done of horses, as ancient horses really do have that coloration of burnt red on top, white belly, and a black mane, as can be seen in Prezwalski's horse, the most ancient lineage of horses still extant today. I would love to have the experience Fuentes' had, of standing in a dimly lit cave and imagining what it would have been like to be the artist who painted these scenes.
I loved reading your observations of early artwork! Do you believe people spent time creating these pieces even though they were busy as a form of communication, or did they simply enjoy being creative? For me, I believe its a combination of both.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog about early artwork and how humans have not changed as much over time as people may think. Thinking about early art makes me wonder about the innateness of creativity. It is interesting that no matter the time or setting, humans have found a way to foster creativity which makes me believe that being creative is a part of being human.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post! Learning about early humans and their art is so cool. Not only can we look back in time to the birth of our species' modern history, but I feel like it gives us insight into who we are as people. It's comforting to know that art has always been important to humans
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your insights on cave paintings. I think it is cool as well when we see these pieces of art up close and remember they are thousands of years old. I try and imagine what the person who painted them was thinking, feeling, how their daily life was treating them. It is spiritual in a way, that sort of reflection.
ReplyDeleteI think your post was a really unique addition to the blog! I thought it was so cool that your post didn't focus on one person, but rather took a look at early humanity on a larger scale. I think it's fascinating that on a very basic level, such as being creative, creating art, and documenting the world we experience, us humans haven't really changed all that much.
ReplyDeleteI love your post since I also enjoy humanities and history. I love how you interpret art as a form of human connection within a group and across generations. You breathe a sense of community into this art piece by reminding us that we all share similar lives through the time we spend preserving the memories of what we hold dear. I find art to be so emotional and this piece really moved me. I love your appreciation of humanity and the subtle nod saying, "Hi let's be friends. I'll show you my world." My name, Marcella, is directly from a Ancient Roman name Marcellus/ Marcella (wow I know so different). I carry this reminder of my ancestors and heritage every day and everywhere I go. I love how we can connect the dots between the past and present and find such a beauty in humanity!
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting post! It is really amazing to think that even though we are separated from these early humans by thousands of years, we are still fundamentally the same as them. I think it says something about humanity that both our early ancestors and us felt and still feel the need to create and express ourselves through artwork. Maybe it is just inherent to us and other living beings, or maybe our development into the "behaviorally modern" stage allowed us to express our creativity in new and previously unseen ways.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this! When thinking about creatives, I would never had considered our ancient ancestors, but these people were just as creative then as we are today. It is really cool to think that maybe humans and our creativity has not changed over these thousands of years but rather just our artistic media. Even though they are made with simple artistic tools, these paintings are really life-like and capture an creativity I had not thought of before.
ReplyDelete